Aftershock Comics 2019
Created & Written by Adam Glass & Olivia Cuartro-Briggs
Illustrated by Hayden Sherman
Lettered by Sal Cipriano
Mary discovers not only that their mysterious host is a surgeon intent on reanimating the dead, but also that she's a woman. Banished from a career in medicine because of her sex, Dr. Victoria Frankenstein has decided to create a manservant devoted to her success in a misogynistic world. The only thing she needs is a partner. Mary quickly sees the potential to carry on her late mother's feminist work, but agreeing would mean betraying her closest companions, and becoming an accomplice to murder...
I don’t know what the divvying of the writing chores are here but this concept is really classic for Adam, by that I mean alternate history storytelling. Oddly enough having Frankenstein be a female descendent isn’t all that uncommon however it is all about how that is portrayed which is going to set that apart. From what I have seen thus far these two have done a sensational job in that aspect. There is something inherently creepy about a dark stormy night, a mysterious castle under the circumstances they were it all conspires to really get under the skin of the reader. It is also what makes those of us who like multiple genres including horror and alternate history want to cry with joy.
There is a kind of two-part opening here. Initially we see the remains of a man as Mary and Victoria become acquainted with one another. And oh boy is that first image something to be seen. Again a beautiful opening sequences that leads into the next that piques the curiosity as we begin to learn the mysterious origin of the Lady of the house. Oh and Victoria and Imogen that doesn’t take a lot of knowledge or sleuthing to figure that one out. However the second part of the opening here goes back to Victoria and her father Victor. The writing here is superb and the whole admiration and idolisation of Victoria as she sees her father is something that sticks out, makes an impact on the reader and quite honestly is more common than we think and it helps us to connect with her. Time will tell if we like her but right now she’s one we can understand what motivates her and for us to understand her.
Hayden’s work on the interiors keeps growing on me the more I see it. He definitely has his own unique style of storytelling and while sometimes I think it’s not for me he turns around and says hold my beer. That first image is stunning, the look of the castle in fall is amazing quite honestly the way he’s able to compose the panels so what we see are what we remember. I mean I can recall most of the book without even opening it and that’s largely due to his work here. The attention to detail is done in ways that surprise the reader.
The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows a strong and talented eye for storytelling. How we see backgrounds utilised really does expand the moments and bring a nice sense of size and scope to this world. That panel that runs across the top of two pages showing the laboratory is a holy shit moment for me. Also yay a penis, sure it’s cut off before we see the head but that’s chains as restraints for ya.
The story & plot development here is so good and the way the pacing takes us through these pages and the characterisation brings these folks from characters to people is amazing. The ebb & flow is so strong and so good and by the end of the issue which feels as if it comes too soon we are left wanting. Aftershock is home to some of the most talented and amazing creators working today and it’s books like this that shatter perceptions and make getting lost in reading a story that allows the readers own imagination to become involved helps make reading fun again!